BYU also spoiled the Cardinal’s eight-match win streak against MPSF opponents as well as its 10-match undefeated record at Maples Pavilion, dating back to 2007.

Team captain Andrew Stewart led the Cougars with 16 kills and 13 digs, marking his first double-double of the 2009 season and second of his career. Futi Tavana and Mat Taylor each contributed 13 kills apiece, with Russell Lavaja recording 10 blocks, both match- and career-highs. Tavana also recorded eight blocks, including a career-high three block solos.

The opening set started with three consecutive service aces by Kent Tuttle--a new career-high for the junior opposite--to give BYU an 8-6 lead. The Cougars led by as many as four points before Stanford tied things up 15-15. The Cardinal’s .519 hitting percentage and BYU’s 10 attack errors were enough to give Stanford the set win at 30-26.

Stanford jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the second set before a kill by Stewart put BYU on the board. A kill from Alex Da Pron knotted the score 13-all. An into-the-net violation called on Stanford gave the Cougars their first lead of the set, but the advantage was short-lived as the Cardinal scored four-straight points. Trailing 25-19, four consecutive BYU blocks brought the Cougars to within one point, forcing a Cardinal timeout. Lavaja and Yamil Perez contributed kills to put the Cougars up 28-26, but Stanford clawed back to force set-point after scoring three-straight points. The two teams combined for four set-point scenarios before a block by Taylor and Tavana claimed the 33-31 win for BYU.

Ten tied scores was the story to start the third set before the Cougars went up 17-15. Consecutive kills from Stewart extended the lead to four. The Cardinal narrowed BYU’s lead to two points after a service ace, but could not completely close the gap. Perez and Stewart both knocked down kills, but it was five Stanford errors, including a service error on set-point, that secured the BYU win and gave the Cougars a 2-1 advantage in the match.

BYU’s strong blocking continued in the fourth set as the team scored four unanswered points to start. The momentum stayed in the Cougars’ favor with back-to-back kills from Tavana and a service ace from Stewart. With BYU leading 19-14, the two teams traded points back-and-forth as the Cardinal started seeing offensive success with four kills. After trailing by as many as five, Stanford’s first lead of the game came at 25-24 after a kill by Evan Romero. The Cardinal went on to win 30-26 to tie the match at two games-all.

After trailing 3-0 in the final set, the Cougars came back to tie it up 5-5 before two kills by Tavana gave BYU an 8-6 advantage. Taylor contributed his 13th kill of the night to put his team within two points of a win. A Stanford attack into the net set up match-point in favor of the Cougars. Another Cardinal attack error proved fatal as BYU claimed the 15-11 victory.